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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 A to Z of me

I don't normally just slap a post up there (seeing as how I have a backlog of about 24 posts from November and December that I still need to review and put up - I promise, I will do this tomorrow when I have the whole day to do nothing but relax :)

There are a thousand things I could have put for each of these (except for X of course) but I promised myself I would use the first thing that came to mind. Very interesting. Either way, this was fun to do...so here is my 2013 in Review!

A – Abby, my fabulous niece who was born in April of 2013

B – Big Ten 10k - easily my favorite race this year - it was so much fun and I will be doing it every year. Also, a shout out to Brooks’ running shoes which I switched to this year – I love them (especially my pink Glycerin 11s)!

C – Compression sleeves – my compression sleeves have saved my life in recent runs – they have helped my calves/shins recover quicker and they’re actually super comfortable – and let’s face it…for me, anything I can wear that is pink when I run is great in my book

D – Dream job – I started my dream job in May of this year

E – Engaged – I got engaged in March to the love of my life

F – Frozen Yogurt – I have rediscovered this and am officially obsessed – I cannot get enough

G – Green Kitchen – this place makes the best salads ever and I eat them at least two to three times a week…sometimes more…oh, and since we’re in “G”, let me shout out to my Green Bay Packers – we made the playoffs again this year :)

H – Half marathon – I ran my first half marathon (and then two more) this year

I – Improvement – I have improved myself this year in several ways…but there is always room for more

J – Jambox – the fiancé and I purchased a Jambox this year and it might be the greatest purchase of 2013

K – Keurig – my Keurig has been my bff this year – it has helped me wake up on the way to the gym in the early mornings and also has kept my awake after long runs – I highly recommend it

M – Motivation – I have discovered a tiny modicum of motivation goes a long way when those long runs or races are looming ahead of you

N – Nelson Mandela - we lost a great man this year. He will be forever remembered for his amazing accomplishments and what a life to have lived. He has been a role model of mine for as long as I can remember. It was my goal to someday meet him - but hey, maybe someday I will ;)

O – Once We Were Brothers – the best book I read in 2013…and I read A LOT of books this year

P – Personal record – I PR’d like a boss this year in a 5k, 10k and ½ marathon – that hasn’t happened in 6 years

Q – Quality – I have learned the difference between a quality and a quantity run. If I feel like crap, doing a quality run is much more beneficial than struggling through many miles and having a bad run

R – Runchat – this has been great for me this year – participating in this on Sunday evenings has been amazing, for the fact that I have gotten so much advice from other runners – I love it.

S – Sushi nights with my Milwaukee friends has gotten me through some very rough patches this year. You cannot go wrong with some good sushi and a chat with your friends

T – Thirteen is the number of races I ran in 2013, which is pretty awesome considering I only raced between May and December

U – @UnlikelyRunner is my twitter handle, and the way I have chosen to self-title. I do not look like a typical runner nor am I anywhere near professional, but am completely addicted

V – Vitamins – I have learned in the past few months how important vitamins have become to my daily routine and how much better I can be when my body is fueled properly

W – Wine – I have known for quite some time that I love wine, but over the course of the last year, I have discovered that I would rather enjoy a glass or two of this rather than drink beer – strange for me.

X – X-ray – I had two of these in October to confirm that all I had was PF and not a stress fracture – whew!

Y – Yoga – I rediscovered this as well this year – I found a great instructor and my class is awesome – I love my Monday night Yoga classes

Z – Zero is the number of planned runs I will allow myself to skip while training in 2014